Presenter 3 Affiliation

Paper Title 4

Presenter 4 Name

Nicole Corrigan

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Emory Univ.

Start Date

11-5-2017 7:30 PM

Session Location

Fetzer 2040

Description

Across the medieval Mediterranean and beyond, people of many faiths and backgrounds sought the succor of the miraculous virgin and mother, Mary. Christians venerated Mary as the holiest figure of Christianity after Christ, the one thanks to whom the divine mystery of the Incarnation was fulfilled. The Koran also hailed her as chosen by Allah. Converts to Christianity from paganism or Islam were often said to be motivated by their great love of the Virgin. Byzantine churches were incomplete without her image in the holiest of holies, the apse of the sanctuary. In the West, the grandest Gothic cathedrals rose in her honor. Objects such as the thirteenth-century Freer canteen, as well as shared shrines, suggest that Marian images could be appreciated by audiences professing different faiths. Images of the Virgin acted as a shared touchpoint between people of many different backgrounds, socio-economic strata, and faiths.

This panel includes papers that focus on the capacity of the Virgin to act as a bridge or cultural mediator: between regions, between genders, between political factions and cities, and between belief systems. Panel participants may focus on representations of the Virgin as well as references to religious practices associated with images of the Virgin. Icons, cult centers, manuscripts, monumental sculpture, wall-painting, architecture, as well as practices associated with all of these, may be considered.

Amanda R. Luyster

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS

May 11th, 7:30 PM

The Virgin as Bridge: Cultural Exchange and Connection through Images of the Virgin Mary

Fetzer 2040

Across the medieval Mediterranean and beyond, people of many faiths and backgrounds sought the succor of the miraculous virgin and mother, Mary. Christians venerated Mary as the holiest figure of Christianity after Christ, the one thanks to whom the divine mystery of the Incarnation was fulfilled. The Koran also hailed her as chosen by Allah. Converts to Christianity from paganism or Islam were often said to be motivated by their great love of the Virgin. Byzantine churches were incomplete without her image in the holiest of holies, the apse of the sanctuary. In the West, the grandest Gothic cathedrals rose in her honor. Objects such as the thirteenth-century Freer canteen, as well as shared shrines, suggest that Marian images could be appreciated by audiences professing different faiths. Images of the Virgin acted as a shared touchpoint between people of many different backgrounds, socio-economic strata, and faiths.

This panel includes papers that focus on the capacity of the Virgin to act as a bridge or cultural mediator: between regions, between genders, between political factions and cities, and between belief systems. Panel participants may focus on representations of the Virgin as well as references to religious practices associated with images of the Virgin. Icons, cult centers, manuscripts, monumental sculpture, wall-painting, architecture, as well as practices associated with all of these, may be considered.